Daily Readings - Wed Aug 27 2025
1 Thessalonians
9Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.10You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.11For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children,12encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.13And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.
Matthew
27"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.28In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.29"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.30And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'31So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.32Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!
Sermon
In today’s readings, we encounter two powerful messages that invite us to reflect on the authenticity of our faith and the integrity of our actions. The first reading from 1 Thessalonians describes the Apostle Paul’s missionary work, emphasizing his dedication, hard work, and fatherly care for the Thessalonian community. Paul and his companions preached the Gospel not for personal gain but out of love, and they labored tirelessly to ensure they were not a burden to others. They exhorted the Thessalonians to live in a way worthy of God’s call, and they rejoiced because the community received the Word of God as divine, not human, and allowed it to transform their lives.
The Gospel from Matthew presents a stark contrast. Jesus denounces the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy. Outwardly, they appeared righteous, building monuments to the prophets and claiming to honor them. Yet inwardly, they were filled with corruption and iniquity. Jesus accuses them of being sons of those who persecuted the prophets, implying that their actions align with the sins of their ancestors. This passage serves as a warning against superficial piety and the danger of prioritizing appearances over true conversion of heart.
These readings challenge us to examine our own lives. Like Paul, are we living with sincerity and integrity, allowing the Word of God to transform us? Or are we like the scribes and Pharisees, content with outward appearances while neglecting the inner call to holiness? Jesus calls us to authenticity, to a faith that is not just about rituals or external practices but about a deep, abiding relationship with God. Let us strive to live in such a way that our actions reflect the truth of our faith, and may we always remember that true righteousness is not about what others see but about the condition of our hearts before God.